Be Thankful.....

for the freedoms you still have, the roof over your head (shelter from the storm), the food at your table (no matter how much or how little), the family (not always blood relations) and friends that hold a space in your heart and the opportunity of tomorrow.

Remember there are those that have not a one of those blessings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Well Then...

Life's curve-balls are never ending it appears...you'd think I'd be used to it at this point!

Alas, I am not...so imagine my surprise when one day after forking over $500 to get the Durango fixed (supposed bad flywheel...I now have my doubts) it up and kaputs 45 minutes from home, resulting in not only a DEAD Durango but also a $265 towing bill.

As of now, it is looking a bit like we threw a rod...not 100% on it as we were on a jaunt to MO when the demise occurred and we were required to unpack said dead beast and try to cram it all into a Kia Spectra (yeah...go on...I'll wait while you figure how we managed camping gear and clothing for a week, two kids and two dogs in that).  If that is in fact the case....well...good-bye $5k for a new engine and the labor it will take.  That'll take a few months to gather, so in the meantime we are down to just the Kia and the beast is occupying a space strategically located near a tree that is dead and teetering dangerously.

So I've taken to finding paying gigs on the net...mostly copyright reading goo, survey junk (that I've done before and I know pays) and this news reading thingy (so far it's been mostly celebrity goo but I did learn about a new species of hammerhead shark).  The j-o-b thing for me is currently out of the question with one vehicle as said vehicle is currently employed in Tanker's school journeying (and VA journeying as he restarts physical therapy...yippee).  So it's penny-pinching to the max around these parts.  Nothing new.

I swear...life loves me...to death.

Dreaming Again...

weirdly enough.

The past week my sleep has been broken and filled with strange, decidedly dread inducing dreams.  All are somewhat post-apocalyptic in nature; a world once again based on small communities attempting to carve a life out of the surrounding countryside.

Normally I wouldn't find dreams like these dread inducing...normally they don't happen every single night...normally when I wake and then fall back to sleep the dream will change to something else.  This has not been the case.

My own personal demons coming through?  To much anxiety?  Possibly.  It certainly isn't from reading too many post-apocalyptic novels (haven't read one in months).

Perhaps my unconscious mind is reacting to the uncertainty we currently find ourselves in (personally, nationwide and worldwide).  Perhaps it is a sort of wishful thinking.  Or simply a personal prod to action as I've been disgustingly lax the past 3 months in making sure we are as prepared as possible for the coming year since it is our first here at the lake.

So in the weeks to follow I will be throwing myself into finishing unpacking, taking stock and making lists.  I know for a fact that we have entirely too much stuff (again) and quite a bit will be making the short journey into town to be deposited at either a consignment shop or the local thrift shop (which donates to Veteran charities).

In the meantime, I dream.

Thoughts...

on the 'shutdown'.....again.

I broke down and wrote my 'reps' again today.

I let them know that despite the probability of our losing out on VA pay this month, I'm good with a 'piecemeal' approach to getting the .gov moving again.

Why?

Because that's how we (people that have to budget) have to do it.  We have to go line by line and decide what is important enough to be kept and included in our budgets and how much we are willing to pay out of our limited funds for those things that aren't necessities.

I also let them know that the 'my way or no way' approach is really unacceptable...meaning I don't much like the idea of Mr. Prez saying that he's willing to negotiate IF the debt ceiling is raised and the shutdown ends.  Um, that's not really negotiating...from my understanding of the word negotiate that is.  I guess I should study up on the dictator's dictionary to get the correct understanding.

The frustration I have is from the blatant lack of disregard for the opinions and desires of the American public by our 'elected' officials.  But that will unfortunately not change anytime soon.